A LOT of work had been going on behind the scenes before the opening of the north-eastern frontier of our war of liberation.
By the time the first shots rang out at Altena Farm, Mt Darwin, on December 21 1972, everything was in place for ZANLA to operate from the north-eastern frontier.
It was irreversible and it proved to be a most lethal blow to the settler-regime.
Ian Smith admitted as much in a late night television and radio broadcast on January 18 1973 when he said: “The terrorist (guerilla) incursions in the north-east of our country had developed in a manner that we had not previously experienced and as result we have to face up to a number of serious problems.” (Muchemwa: 2015)
But how had things come to this?
“The Special Branch was fully aware of what was going on, the preparations for the opening of the north-eastern frontier,” writes Ellert (1989), a former member of Rhodesia’s Special Branch.
“The outbreak of violence in late 1972 came as no surprise to the CIO.
Isolated trans-border operations by the Rhodesians had conclusively proved that ZANU was in Mozambique and were busy training and bringing in supplies from Zambia.
In early 1972 Special Branch sources reported that large quantities of food and clothes were being purchased from shops near the St Albert’s Mission in the Mvuradona mountains overlooking the Zambezi Valley floor where guerillas had been secretly operating for months.
The Special Branch had received regular reports about the disappearance of men from villages and sightings of armed men.”
Despite this, Smith chose to believe the Ministry of Internal Affairs which reported that: “The Korekore people of the Zambezi Valley were a docile lot and more interested in drinking the intoxicating kachasu spirit than being party to any insurrection nonsense as propounded by the security people.”
The Special Branch also alerted the regime that this phase of ZANLA operations had the blessings of the spiritual leadership of the people and underlined the role of spirit mediums, as in the First Chimurenga, but Smith chose to label these reports alarmist.
His disdain of our people and their sacred responsibility to their land led Smith to make the greatest miscalculation of his life.
Zimbabweans belong to Musikavanhu and its Musikavanhu who put Smith to sleep.
This week, we look at an epic battle, the second one signalling the opening of the north-eastern frontier which took place only six days before Smith’s historic admission that there was a catastrophe in the north-east of the country.
This battle indicated that the land of Mbuya Nehanda was no longer a safe haven for the British.
Breathing fire, Gerald Hawksworth, a land development officer (LDO) in the Mt Darwin area of Chesa and two colleagues attacked the Gwerevende Homestead because Cde Gwerevende had foiled Hawksworth plan to rob him and his brother-in-law of their general dealer shop at Nyakasikana.
Cde Chinodakufa, one of the ZANLA combatants who fought this battle, said this encounter was just hours after he and his section had attacked the DA’s office at Mt Darwin, as well as the Mupfure Bridge.
Narrates Cde Chinodakufa: “We retreated to the Gwerevende homestead, it was at dawn and vaGwerevende showed us where to hide.
Shortly after, the enemy stormed into the homestead, shot a dog and started loading vaGwerevende’s family into a land rover.
Our parents were being killed and ignoring this catastrophe was selling out.
We were anguished and decided to ambush the whites.
We laid an ambush about some distance from where they were but how to do it now that the land rover was carrying our parents (vabereki).
We decided on a sniping system.
One (sniper) would hit the rear wheel, another the front one and a third the front window where the whites were seated. That is what happened.
Hawksworth was not able to get away, we captured him.
We said to the parents we are no longer safe, neither are you, we can no longer stay here, zvinhu zvashata.
Bury the vehicle but we have to go.
It did not help, the whites followed us up kusvika kwaKaranda.”
The ambush had been supremely successful.
Cde Gwerevende’s family was unhurt.
Hawksworth’s two colleagues had been killed and Hawksworth himself was captured and taken to Mozambique.
Cde Gwerevende recounts this battle: “Hawksworth was after me because of the shop at Nyakasikana.
The comrades were now living here.
The three LDOs came in two land rovers, Hawksworth saw their shoes outside and asked whose they were.
I wasn’t there at the time.
I had gone to collect the sell-out who informed the whites that the comrades were based at my place.
I had not gone far when I heard gunshots.
Hawksworth shot a dog and Mai Mutandiro.
His demand was, ‘I want my men’.
He took my father, Maxwell and Mai Mutandiro.
He told them he was taking them to Mt Darwin but they would never get to Mt Darwin.
The comrades decided to intervene and ambushed the two land rovers before they could get far.
Two LDOs drove in front of Hawksworth.
I got there as Hawksworth was about to run away.
I asked him why he wanted to run away and he said that he was in trouble.
It was drizzling.
I reminded him I used to tell him not to get involved in the affairs of this nation.
He replied that he had no choice, he was sent by Government.
I asked him where he was taking them and beat him thoroughly before the comrades stopped me and told me they were taking him to Mozambique.
Two LDOs had been killed.
The comrades loaded the corpses into Hawksworth vehicle as theirs had been destroyed.
They wanted to drive the land rover with the two corpses to the Ruya River and dump them in there, but they did not get far as the land rover’s axle broke.
Later we used oxen to ferry the land rover and its contents to its burial ground.”
Indeed, ZANLA had come to the north-eastern frontier to stay and would launch the most deadly attacks from this frontier until the whiteman surrendered.
This would be the precursor to other frontiers which would ultimately dismantle Rhodesian forces.
ZANLA had come home!